U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded their quietest full trading week since October 2024, even as the products managed to extend a fragile streak of net inflows. Trading volume across the bitcoin ETF complex totaled roughly $8.05 billion over the five sessions ending Friday, according to The Block's analysis of SoSoValue data. Spot bitcoin ETF trading volume totaled roughly $8.05 billion during the week ending Friday, down 14% from $9.37 billion in the preceding period.
The funds last posted lower weekly volume in April 2025, though that period contained only four trading sessions because U.S. markets were closed for Good Friday. Among full five-session weeks, the latest figure was the lowest since the week ending Oct. 11, 2024. The decline reflects subdued trading activity as bitcoin remained near $64,000, well below the record highs reached late last year.
A Fragile Inflow Streak
Despite the thin volume, bitcoin ETFs squeezed out a third straight week of net inflows, though barely. The funds drew just $33.8 million in net inflows after nearly $500 million of inflows through Wednesday were largely erased over the final two sessions. That reversal tracked two sharply negative daily prints, as the group lost roughly $225 million on July 23 and another $240 million on July 24, according to data compiled by BeInCrypto.
The $33.8 million result marked the weakest of the three consecutive positive weeks, which followed a record eight-week outflow streak that had drained billions from the category earlier this year. The prior two weeks had brought in $197.4 million and then $75.7 million, meaning the pace of inflows has been steadily shrinking even as the streak technically remains intact.
Fund-level activity showed a familiar divide. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, the largest spot bitcoin ETF by net assets, recorded roughly $95.5 million in net outflows for the week after losing a combined $414.7 million during the final two sessions, while Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF partly offset those withdrawals with approximately $85.8 million and $78.1 million in inflows, respectively.
Ether Funds Extend Their Lead
Ether ETFs continued to punch above their weight relative to their much smaller asset base. Spot ether ETFs drew approximately $103.9 million in net inflows, more than three times the bitcoin funds' total and the category's third consecutive positive week, while also outperforming bitcoin ETFs for a second straight week. They attracted $105.4 million in inflows during the preceding period, compared with $75.7 million for the bitcoin funds.
The disparity looks even starker when measured against the size of each category. Ethereum ETF net assets stood at $10.17 billion Friday, compared with $77.82 billion for the bitcoin products, and the latest ether inflows were equivalent to roughly 1% of the category's net assets. Ether funds have drawn nearly as much capital as bitcoin ETFs over the past three weeks despite holding about one-eighth as much in net assets.
Related: Crypto Markets Eye AI-to-Bitcoin Rotation as ETF Inflows Return and CLARITY Act Nears Vote
Late-Week Weakness Hit Both Categories
Momentum faded for both asset classes heading into the weekend. Data cited by BeInCrypto showed ether ETFs also suffered a late reversal, shedding roughly $70.6 million on July 24, though the category's weekly total held onto its lead over bitcoin funds. Smaller altcoin-linked products showed mixed results over the same stretch, with XRP funds pulling in about $8 million, solana funds adding roughly $7 million, and Hyperliquid's HYPE ETFs posting a second consecutive weekly outflow of about $8.6 million as assets slipped from a mid-July peak.
What It Means for the Market
The combination of falling volume and thinning inflows suggests institutional appetite for spot crypto ETFs has cooled from the frenzied pace seen after last year's launches, even as the category avoids slipping back into net redemptions. Analysts have pointed to bitcoin's stagnation near $64,000 as a key reason trading desks and allocators have pulled back, a dynamic that has coincided with growing chatter about capital rotating toward artificial-intelligence-linked assets rather than digital-asset funds. Whether ether's smaller but steadier inflows continue to outpace bitcoin, or whether bitcoin ETFs regain their footing, is likely to hinge on whether bitcoin's price can break out of its recent range in the coming weeks.
